History, Sentiment Fill Reagan Shrine

The Museum Includes A Chunk Of The Berlin Wall And His College Letter Sweater.

July 18, 2004|By Dallas Morning News

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- The glowing tributes bestowed on Ronald Reagan in recent weeks are nothing new in Simi Valley. Reagan's legacy has been burnished and polished here for more than a decade.

The Great Communicator's official showplace, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum, welcomed visitors less than three years after he grandly left office in January 1989.

Located high in the Simi Hills just off Ronald Reagan Freeway, the 40th president's museum not only reviews his life but offers a spectacular view. At its entrance is another eye-catcher, a bronze statue of Reagan in cowboy garb with a Stetson in hand. Titled "After the Ride" and sculpted in 1998 by Glenna Goodacre, it's a gift from longtime Reagan friend Edward Gaylord.

The Reagan gift shop helps keep the legacy alive too. Visitors can take home a five-CD set titled "Speaking My Mind: Selected Speeches of Ronald Reagan." Books autographed by Reagan sell for $1,500 (none currently are available), and for an extra $250 you also can get the signature of his wife, Nancy. But you won't find the controversial Reagan biography Dutch by historian Edmund Morris.

Reagan literally had a say in how the museum presented his legacy. The former president recorded a series of reminiscences before Alzheimer's disease began stealing his past. The trip down memory lanes is mostly without potholes.

"The Early Years" wing in the Reagan museum is adorned with coming-of-age memorabilia ranging from one of his favorite books as a kid (The Rover Boys at Big Bear Lake) to his maroon Eureka College varsity letter sweater.

Reagan, in a continuous audio track, quotes Dad as saying, "He looks like a fat little Dutchman. And who knows, he might grow up to be president someday."

The museum's full-scale replica of Big Dutch's Oval Office gives voice to Reagan's description of himself as "just the latest temporary occupant. . . . I almost never removed my suit coat. Somehow, casual attire seemed out of place here."

History is paramount, but kitsch and sentiment likewise are abundant.

The museum houses the Truluv canoe that Ron lovingly enjoyed paddling with Nancy. They were married more than 50 years ago on March 4, 1952.

Visitors also can see George Gipp's letter sweater, presented to Reagan in 1989 by the national champion Notre Dame football team. He played "The Gipper" in 1940's corny but enduring Knute Rockne: All-American. Posters from some of Reagan's other feature films also are displayed, including Stallion Road, Naughty But Nice and, yes, Bedtime for Bonzo, in which his costar was a rambunctious chimp.

The museum has an imposing chunk of the Berlin Wall -- 100 feet away from where the late president is entombed in a garden crypt -- and a separate wing for the first lady. The beaded, silver gown Nancy Reagan wore to her husband's 1985 inaugural ball is glass-encased.

A new exhibit, Mourning in America, opened July 4. It focuses on the funeral ceremonies and tributes that followed Reagan's death June 5 at age 93.